It seems like most people want to a film that appeals to film school snobs,as opposed to a film that respects the actual genre.

My rule of thumb is "ignore anyone who uses the words 'elevate' or 'transcend.'" A movie should not try to escape its genre, it should try to *embody* the genre. Its code word for "Genre films are inferior trash, but I like this one, so even though its clearly a crime drama/sci-fi movie/superhero film/whatever, I am going to pretend that it isn't."